§ MR. GOURLEY (Sunderland)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade how much of the £20,000 voted last Session for erecting telegraph and telephone wires between coastguard and lifeboat stations, shore lighthouses, and rocket stations has already been expended; and whether the system has been the means of accelerating the despatch of lifeboats to crews in distress, and of saving several lives; if so, is it his intention to ask Parliament for a further grant sufficient to carry out the recommendations contained in the interim Report of the Commissioners on Coast Communication?
§ THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. A. MORLEY, Nottingham, E.)My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. As I have already stated to the House, the sum of £20,000 voted last Session for Special Sea Coast Extensions has been wholly appropriated, and will be expended before the end of 34 the financial year. I have no information, beyond what is to be found in the public newspapers, as to whether the system has been the means of accelerating the despatch of lifeboats and of saving lives; and I have communicated with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, and I understand that he is in the same position. The latter part of my hon. Friend's question refers to certain proposals of the Royal Commission on Electrical Communication with Lighthouses and Lightvessels. Those proposals, which are distinct from the scheme of Sea Coast Extensions sanctioned by Parliament, are now under the consideration of the Treasury.